


Half-elves what what

by thevaliantdust



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Awkwardness Abounds, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 19:55:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5140568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thevaliantdust/pseuds/thevaliantdust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vax and Keyleth keep watch in the cellar, but Vex isn't having a bar of it.</p>
<p>Takes place during episode 30</p>
            </blockquote>





	Half-elves what what

A bottle of wine between six somewhat shaken adventurers disappears much quicker than you’d think.

The chill in the air has been chased off through a combination of alcohol and the forced closeness of the cellar. As he notices Percy’s eyelids start to droop, Vax volunteers to take watch, signaling to everyone to get some rest. Keyleth meets his eyes across the haphazard circle they found themselves seated in and volunteers to stay up with him. He won’t lie, there is a small flutter in his heart and he thanks her with a gracious smile and a nod.

He catches Vex giving Keyleth an oddly irritated look from the corner of his eye, but shrugs it off as she settles against an already snoring Trinket, seemly making her bed for the night. Vax moves across the room, deliberately perching in a position with sight lines to both the cellar door and the barricaded tunnel. And if that just happens to put him right next to Keyleth, well, he’s not complaining.

Vex sits up suddenly. **You know, I’m not that tired actually,** she says, giving Keyleth another hard look, **I’ll keep watch. You need to sleep Keyleth.**

There is a little part of Vax that is proud when Keyleth cooly holds her own against his sister, replying with a small but sure, **oh no I’m fine, thanks though.** He wonders if it has even occurred to the good-natured druid why exactly Vex is being so ridiculously... annoying.

Having been appropriately thwarted and with no way to force the issue, a nettled Vex leans against a furry wall of bear and starts inspecting the tips of her arrows, more than once pointing them in Vax and Keyleth’s direction. For her part, Keyleth doesn’t seem to be aware of the tension in the room, though Vax is choking on it.

**That thing with the sunbeam, that was great,** he nudges Keyleth’s leg. She shrugs modestly, but he can see by the small smile playing on her lips that she’s quite proud of it herself. Not willing to let her be overly demure, he presses on. **And then when you whipped the other one off me with the vine… thanks for having my back.**

Keyleth turns to him with a genuine smile, grabbing his hand and giving it a quick squeeze. **Of course** , she says out loud, and her eyes and her touch say ‘always’. He wants to stroke her hand with his thumb, maybe gently trace his fingers up her arm, to her shoulder, her neck-

The least subtle snort on earth comes from Vex’s direction, filling the cramped space with a very awkward silence. Vax has a brief moment wherein he contemplates all the horrible fates he could inflict on his sister, giving no indication of his musings other than the tightening of his jaw and his manically widening eyes. He turns to her, forced smile and locked jaw, trying to call on their twin connection and speak without words. **What. The Fuck. Why!?** his rapid eye movements and twitching upper lip convey his thoughts.

His sister, little shit that she is, leans back further into Trinket’s sleeping form, a smug, slightly vindictive smile on her lips. **You know, Keyleth,** she begins, and by the tone in her voice it’s clear she’s about to start some shit. Vax gives a warning shake of the head, knowing whatever comes next can’t be good for him. Never one to disappoint, Vex finishes her seditious sentiment in a sickly sweet voice containing just the right amount of authenticity, **it’s so nice that you and Vax are back on speaking terms. There was that awful time when you were so angry at him, and rightly so, but the poor boy was miserable, I think he barely slept at all that week…**

She trails off as Keyleth makes eye contact with Vax, both parties trepidacious. Their shared gaze lasts a second longer than it should before Keyleth breaks it off, looking briefly back to Vex before finding an abstract point on the ground to look at. Vex meets her brother’s eyes over the druid’s head, a blatantly false innocence in her expression in reply to his accusatory stare.

**Oh sorry darling, I didn’t mean to make things awkward,** she says in Keyleth’s direction, to which Keyleth shakes her head, waving off the apology. The room descends into silence except for the deep sleepy breathing of their oblivious companions. Mortified, Vax braces his elbows on his knees and covers his face with his hands, only lifting his head because he is on watch, a responsibility he takes very seriously.

The three half-elves slip into a tense but not entire uncomfortable silence, each locked in their own thoughts, though Vax would pay a great deal of money to know what was going on in Keyleth’s head at that moment. It has been at least an hour, and he’s starting to feel his eyes water and the tired yawning set in. He rubs his hands harshly over his face, trying to massage some energy back into himself.

**You’re tired, you should go to sleep. Vex and I can finish the watch**. Keyleth’s voice breaks the silence and suddenly he’s the least tired he’s ever been.

**Thanks, Kiki, I’ll be okay for now.**

**You were on watch before the attack** , she argues, **you need some sleep.**

**Yes, but it’s not too long until the next watch, and then we can sleep together.** He hears the unfortunate turn of phrase the moment it leaves his mouth and he scrambles to cover it before Vex has a chance to step in- **I mean, at the same time. We can sleep at the same time.**

Oblivious as the druid princess might be, even she doesn’t miss the blatant innuendo, biting her lip to keep from laughing at his flustered elucidation. Vex smirks, **smooth fix there brother**. Vax is just about ready to crawl back down the tunnel and hope for more vampires to spawn and kill him when he notices Keyleth’s gently shaking shoulders. He catches her eye and as she lets out a chuckle, he lets out a breath.

**If you’re sure?** She presses, reminding him that they were actually having a serious conversation moments ago. **Quite** , he replies tenderly, reassuring her with a nod and a smile.

Nothing else of consequence happens on the watch. Vex’s arrows all become beautifully clean killing machines and Vax ponders why exactly his sister feels the need to interfere, vowing to get to the bottom of her feelings at some point.As the watch draws to a close, Vex shifts away from Trinket and lies on the stone cellar floor, wrapped in her cloak.

**Wake Grog for watch, and tell him he can have Trinket to keep him company,** she instructs, her eyes already shut.With a brief glance at Keyleth, Vax stands and goes cautiously to wake the goliath, ready to jump back if Grog takes a swing at him. After passing along Vex’s message, Vax walks across the room, finding an empty piece of floor to sleep on. Surprisingly, Keyleth follows suit, laying down beside him.

They are still for a moment, lying facing each other, eye to eye. Keyleth reaches for his hand and he meets her halfway.

**You’re a dear friend, Vax** , she begins in a voice meant to carry to him alone, and for a split second he is perturbed, wondering where this is going. **I’d hate to think you were truly so miserable when I- when we- last week-**

He squeezes her hand and gives a small shake of the head. **I wasn’t, I’m not. I hated to think that what I said upset you, and I understood your anger. My sister is a bit of a drama queen-**

As he says this, he swears he hears a small gasp of outrage, but he can’t be sure.

**-but pay her no heed. The only part of what she said that matters is that we are friends once more.**

Most unexpectedly, Keyleth shifts closer, closing the gap between them to mere inches. She nods, laying her head down, eyes starting to close. **Yes,** is all she says, but the soft certainty in her voice is enough to lift the last of the burden from Vax’s chest.


End file.
